Evelyn “Evanne” Turnbull

Evelyn “Evanne” Anne Turnbull of Austin, passed away Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at St. David’s Hospital in Round Rock after a year-long battle with colon cancer. She was 73.

Evelyn was born on July 22, 1948 in Pittston, PA to Elizabeth Pauline Lukasiewicz and John Henry Urbanski. During her childhood, her family moved to Newark, NJ– a time she remembered with fondness– before moving back to eastern Pennsylvania where she graduated from high school and completed her teenage years.

Evelyn graduated from Penn State University in 1970 as one of the first women to receive a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. It was at Penn State that she met her future husband, Michael Turnbull, and the two were married on April 14, 1972. Their happy marriage of 33 years was blessed with two daughters, lots of pets, and many adventures together before Michael passed away in 2006.

Evelyn lived a rich life full of many interests and talents. She enjoyed quilting and looked forward many years to attending the Quilt Show in Houston to take classes and see the amazing work on display there. She believed in a lifetime of learning, and in 1994, she received a Master’s degree in Instructional Design from the University of Texas. She loved gardening and filled her yard and her sunroom with dozens of beautiful plants. She could often be found in her backyard watering and tending to the plants or simply sitting and enjoying the ambience. She had a talent for floral arrangement and filled her home with beautifully arranged flowers as well as creating the flower arrangements and bouquets for both daughters’ weddings. She loved to sing in the Bethany Church choir, and in November of 2017, performed with the choir at Carnegie Hall. This is a dream for many musicians, and she was proud and humbled to have been able to experience it herself. She loved to cook, to travel, and to attend theatrical performances with friends. And she cherished time spent with her grandchildren, planning interesting things for them all to do together as well as one-on-one outings with Grandma to cater to and encourage each individual grandchild’s interests. “Grandma” was a role she took seriously, and she was well-loved and appreciated for it by her seven grandsons and one granddaughter.

Evelyn is survived by her daughters Karyn Derby and husband Eric; and Kristen Klein and husband Greg; as well as grandchildren Parker, Camryn, and Dillon Klein and Ryan, Alex, Noah, Bryce, and Liam Derby. Evelyn is also survived by sister-in-law Christine Urbanski, brother-in-law Ramon Tripp, nephew John Urbanski, and nieces Juanita Urbanski Browning, Stephanie Tripp Bow, and Crystal Tripp Goodrich.

She is preceded in death by her loving husband, Michael Turnbull, as well as her parents, brother John Urbanski, and sister Eileen Urbanski Tripp.

A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 20th at Bethany United Methodist Church at 10010 Anderson Mill Rd., Austin, with a reception immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Music Ministry at Bethany United Methodist Church.